Inclined wall display tray



April 5, 1955 J. R. STEELE 2,705,589

INCLINED WALL DISPLAY TRAY Filed Feb. 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 20 I 40 H '1 345 96 INVENTOR. Jofzz E'Mczra Sieefie BY Y M,

Ap 1955 J. R. STEELE 2,705,539

INCLINED WALL DISPLAY TRAY Filed Feb. 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. (557M fizdczz $898k United States Patent 2,705,589 INCLINED WALL DISPLAY TRAY John Richard Steele, Greensboro, N. C., assignor to Coutainer Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application February 20, 1952, Serial No. 272,642

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-34) This invention relates to containers and has to do with paper board display trays having inclined walls.

Display trays formed of paper board and having inclined walls are extensively used. Such trays are commonly collapsed or folded for shipment and are shipped in bales or stacks. It is desirable, for shipping purposes, that the tray be folded with the walls thereof flat and that raising or springing up of the walls, when folded, be avoided, in order that the trays may be arranged in a compact stack for shipment so as to conserve shipping space. My invention is directed to the provision of a tray of the character stated which may be produced at comparatively low cost, may be set up for use with expedition and facility, and may be folded flat for shipment without any objectionable tendency of the folded walls to spring up. The tray of my invention comprises a bottom wall panel and side and end walls connected thereto along fold lines, the side walls having elements cooperating with the end walls for retaining the walls of the tray in set up condition. The bottom wall panel is provided, at each side thereof, with a fold panel connected along one edge to the remainder of the bottom wall panel along a fold line, the other edge of the fold panel being connected along a fold line to the outer panel of the side wall, the fold panel being of slight width relative to the side wall outer panel. The side wall and the fold panel are so related that the side wall may be folded flat onto the bottom wall panel without any objectionable tendency to spring up, the fold panel in the set up condition of the tray being disposed in the plane of the bottom wall panel and, in the folded condition of the tray, overlying the bottom wall panel so that the width of the folded tray is less than that of the set up tray to an extent equal to the width of the two fold panels. That accomplishes an appreciable reduction in the width of the folded tray, compared to the set up tray, thereby effecting a substantial saving in shipping space in shipping large quantities of trays arranged in considerable numbers of stacks. Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the detail description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the tray of my invention is formed, one of the glue flaps being folded over and the tray blank being otherwise fully extended;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the tray embodying my invention folded for shipment;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an isometric side view of the tray 1n set up condition, one end wall being partly broken away and shown in section;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional v1ew, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 5--5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an en larged scale, taken substantially on line 66 of Figure 4; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on lme 7--7 of Flgure The blank of Figure 1 is cut from a sheet of paper board and is cut and scored to provide a rectangular bottom wall panel 10, outer end wall panels 11, inner end wall panels 12, end wall hold down flaps 13, outer side wall panels 14, inner side wall panels 15, glue flaps 2,705,589 Patented Apr. 5, 1955 16 and fold panels 17, which are quite narrow relative to the outer side wall panels 14. The end wall panels 11 and 12 and the associated hold down flaps 13 are hinged together and to the ends of the bottom wall panel 10 along score lines providing fold lines indicated by the dot-and-dash lines. Similarly, the side wall panels 14 and 15 and the glue flaps 16 are hinged together and to fold panels 17 along fold lines indicated by the dotand-dash lines, and the fold panels 17 are hinged, at their inner edges, to the edges of the remainder of the bottom wall panel 10 along fold lines indicated by the dot-anddash lines. The fold lines between the fold panels 17 and the remainder of the bottom wall panel 10 extend across the fold lines between the outer end wall panels 11 and the bottom wall panel 10 and define, with the terminal portions of the latter fold lines, triangular elements 18 at the lower terminal portions of the panels 11. An anchor flap 20, in the form of a trapezium, is hinged to each end of each of the outer side wall panels 14 along a fold line inclined upwardly and inwardly thereof. The ends of the inner side wall panels 15 are inclined upwardly and inwardly thereof, and each of the panels 15 is provided, adjacent each end thereof, with a narrow vertical slot 21 for a purpose to be described presently. The ends of the glue flaps 16 may form continuations of the ends of the panels 15, as shown. The inner end wall panels 12 are provided, at each side thereof, with locking tabs 23 which, in the set up condition of the tray, engage in the slots 21. In the above description of the blank of Figure 1, the various elements thereof have been described with reference to the positions which they occupy in the completely set up tray, to avoid confusion.

In constructing the tray from the blank of Figure l, the glue flaps 16 are folded over onto the panels 15 and are then coated with a suitable adhesive, as indicated by the stippling at the top of Figure l. The side walls, comprising the panels 14 and 15, are then swung inwardly over the bottom wall panel 10 into such. position that the panels 15 are disposed vertically, and the glue flaps 16 are adhesively secured to the upper face of the bottom wall panel 10. Thereafter, the side walls are folded inwardly and downwardly, together with the fold panels 17, onto the upper face of the bottom wall panel 10, as shown in Figure 2. The end walls are then folded I inwardly and downwardly, along the fold lines between the panels 11 and 12 thereof, with the inner end wall panels 12 and the hold down flaps or base panels 13 overlying the panels 11 and the anchor flaps 20, and the end portions of the bottom wall panel '10. The tray is then in its collapsed or folded condition ready for shipment. It will be noted that in the fully collapsed or folded condition of the tray, the narrow fold panels 17 overlie the bottom wall panel 10 reducing the width thereof to an extent equal to the combined widths of the two fold panels 17. The latter panels permit of the side walls being folded flat onto the bottom wall panel 10, being properly proportioned to that end, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the end walls may also be folded flat onto the bottom wall panel, providing a compact article well suited for stacking for shipment and in which the side walls may readily be retained in their flat folded condition. In that connection, it will be noted that the outer side wall panels 14 are of greater width than the inner side wall panels 15 and that, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, the fold line defining the inner edge of folding panel 17 is spaced outward from the fold line defining the lower edge of the inner side wall panel 14 a distance equal to the excess of the combined widths of panels 14 and 17 over the width of panel 15. That permits of the panels 15, 14 and 17 being folded downwardly onto the bottom panel 10 within the outline thereof while panel 15 remains secured thereto by the glue flap 16, as above described and as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Stated differently, but to the same effect, the distance from the fold line defining the inner edge of folding panel 17 to the lower edge of the inner side wall panel 15 plus the width of panel 15 is equal to the width of folding panel 17 plus the width of the outer side wall panel 14. The panels 14 and 17 may, therefore, be folded downwardly and inwardly in overlying relation to bottom panel 10, glue flap 16 and panel 15, as above.

In setting up the folded tray of Figure 2 for use, the side walls are swung upward and outward so as to dispose the inner wall panels 15 thereof vertically, with the outer wall panels 14 sloping downward and outward to the outer edges of the fold panels 17, the latter then being disposed in the plane of the bottom wall panel and between the lower edge of the outer wall panel 14 and the outer edge of the glue flap 16; as will be clear from Figures 5 and 6. After the side walls of the tray have been erected as described, the end walls are folded upwardly and inwardly into position seating on the anchor flaps 20 with the latter extending inwardly across the ends of the side walls, it being noted that the side edges of the outer end wall panels 11 are inclined upwardly and inwardly conformably to the ends of the outer wall panels 14 of the side walls so to provide miter joints therewith. The inner end wall panels 12 of the end walls are then swung downwardly over the upper edges of the anchor flaps 20 and towards the panels 11, the base panels 13 seating on the upper face of the bottom wall panel 10. The inner end wall panels 12 fit snugly between the inner side wall panels 15 and, as the panels 12 reach vertical position, the locking tabs 23 snap into the slots 21, thus locking the end walls in set up condition with the panels 12 thereof extending vertically and the panels 11 inclined downwardly and outward, the base panels 13 then extending from the lower edges of the panels 12 to the lower edges of the panels 11. The end walls are thus of triangular cross section with the panels thereof locked in position. The inner wall panels 12 of the end walls effectively hold the side walls in erected position. The anchor flaps extend along the inner faces of the outer end wall panels 11 with their upper edges, adjacent the inner side wall panels 15, seating in the fold between the end Wall panels 11 and 12, and their lower edges seating on the outer edge portions of the base panels 13, which extend outward beneath anchor panels 20; as shown in Figure 6. The end walls are thus effectively anchored, by means of the anchor panels 20 to the side walls so as to guard against separation of the end and side walls at the corners of the set up tray, assuring that the latter will remain in its completely set up condition presenting a neat and attractive appearance. In practice, after the article or mechandise to be displayed has been placed in the set up tray, the latter may be covered or enclosed by a sheet of cellophane or other suitable transparent material, as is known. If desired, the tray after being set up as described, may readily be collapsed or folded for shipment or storage by swinging the inner end wall panels 12 upward and outward so as to release the side walls, after which the side walls and the end walls of the tray may be folded into their positions shown in Figure 2.

It will be understood that changes in detail may be resorted to without departing from the field and scope of my invention, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which the preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

I claim:

1. In an inclined wall display tray, a bottom wall panel, and side walls at opposite sides of said bottom wall panel respectively comprising upwardly converging inner and outer panels hingedly connected at their upper edges, said inner panel being hingedly secured at its lower edge to said bottom wall panel, the latter having a lengthwise fold line between the lower edges of said inner and outer side wall panels providing a folding panel hinged at its inner edge to the remainder of said bottom wall panel and hinged at its outer edge to the lower edge of said outer side wall panel, the distance between said fold line and the lower edge of said inner side wall panel plus the width of the latter panel being equal to the width of said folding panel plus the width of said outer side wall panel whereby said side wall may be folded downward and inward onto said bottom wall panel with said folding panel and outer side wall panel overlying said bottom wall panel and said inner side wall panel while the lower edge of the latter panel remains secured to said bottom wall panel.

2. In an inclined wall display tray, a bottom wall panel, and side walls at opposite sides of said bottom wall panel respectively comprising upwardly converging inner and outer panels hingedly connected at their upper edges, said inner panel being hingedly secured at its lower edge to the inner edge of a glue flap extending outwardly from said inner panel and fixed to said bottom wall panel, the latter having a lengthwise fold line between the outer edge of said glue flap and the lower edge of said outer side wall panel providing a folding panel hinged at its inner edge to the remainder of said bottom wall panel and hinged at its outer edge to the lower edge of said outer side wall panel, the distance between said fold line and the lower edge of said inner side wall panel plus the width of the latter panel being equal to the Width of said folding panel plus the Width of said outer side wall panel whereby said side wall may be folded downward and inward onto said bottom wall panel with said folding panel and outer side wall panel overlying said bottom wall panel and glue flap and inner side wall panel while said glue flap remains fixed to said bottom wall panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 337,544 Yaggy Mar. 9, 1886 1,492,951 Auerbach May 6, 1924 2,408,532 Roach Oct. 1, 1946 2,512,023 Johnson June 20, 1950 2,519,831 Frankenstein Aug. 22, 1950 2,555,581 Dunning June 5, 1951 2,605,953 Williamson Aug. 5, 1952 2,641,858 Burr June 16, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,195 Great Britain Aug. 20, 1909 767,323 France May 1, 1934 

